Pathways to socio-economic and civic-political inclusion of ethnic minorities in Britain and Canada: The influence of family capital

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Social cohesion is perceived as an important social goal within academic and policy circles. A crucial precondition to this goal is social inclusion, i.e. ensuring that individuals become full members of society by accessing societal resources and institutions (i.e. schools; the labour market; civic and political life). In recent decades, fast-growing ethnic diversity has led to intensifying policy and academic debates on how this is affecting processes of social inclusion and cohesion. Examining the factors influencing ethnic inclusion has thus increased in importance but has often focussed on specific, separate spheres - e.g. socio-economic, cultural or spatial. Recent research has shown, however, that exclusion (i.e. a lack of inclusion) in the socio-economic sphere is linked to exclusion in civic-political arenas for certain minority groups. This calls for further research on the dynamics of ethnic inclusion into the economic and civic-political spheres, the interplay of these two spheres, and how these lifelong processes are shaped by family influences. Given this, our aim with this project is to take a collaborative, comparative, and policy-oriented approach to investigate the patterns of ethnic minority inclusion within British and Canadian socio-economic and civic-political institutions over time and assess the role that family capital plays in determining the inclusion trajectories of individuals. We use the best available data sources (including Understanding Society; the Millennium Cohort Study; the British Election Study in Britain and National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Youth in Transition Survey, and the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics in Canada) and the most sophisticated longitudinal statistical analyses to do so. Our research team, which includes investigators at the University of Manchester, McGill University and the Runnymede Trust, has extensive experience to address the following questions:1. What are the pathways to inclusion of ethnic minorities into British and Canadian institutions?We are interested in identifying and defining outcomes of socio-economic and civic-political inclusion; the interplay of inclusion in these two spheres; whether outcomes observed at one point in time vary over time (i.e. pathways); whether outcomes and pathways are consistent across ethnic, gender, generational and class lines; and whether there are similarities and differences in the inclusion outcomes and pathways in comparison to the 'majority' population. 2. What role does family capital (financial, human, social and cultural) play?We wish to explore the impact of various forms of family capital on the observed outcomes and pathways of inclusion as well as the points in individuals' lives where these family influences are most important. We also seek to shed light on how the role of family capital is affected by family structure and characteristics as well as the composition of the local areas in which families are embedded.3. What are the best ways to address the differentials in family influences?Drawing on the full body of evidence from data analysis (as described above) and feedback from research and policy stakeholders, we want to reflect on how issues of exclusion linked to varying levels of family capital could be tackled by policy makers, with an emphasis on identifying the most effective measures of family capital.4. Do different policy environments generate different types of outcomes?We wish to explore the role that varying policy context (i.e. Canada and Britain) may play on inclusion outcomes and pathways and on the role of the family capital, with a focus on building a strong evidence base for shaping policy debates. Outputs of the project will be made available to a wide-ranging audience via diverse dissemination and impact activities such as the publication of policy briefings, press releases, and dissemination events.